Falling On His Feet
by sanctum-c
Summary: A stranger extends Barret and Marlene a helping hand.


Barret was sweating like fury as he leant back against the nearest building. Between carrying the anxious and very upset Marlene and the awkward weight of the gun arm, he felt absolutely exhausted. The Midgar heat did not help; even after their brief trip through Junon, he had been utterly unprepared for the capital. The massive metal sky of the upper plate kept the slums sweltering with a muggy heat seemingly irrespective of the time of day. The worst part was there were very few places to go to cool down. Out of the city meant back-tracking miles to the outer edge and during sunlight the scorched wasteland beyond would be almost as bad as in here. At night the temperature would fall shockingly far as they had painfully discovered last night.

No. He had to do what was best for Marlene. They had to find somewhere inside the city - even if it was just temporary. Barret tried not to think of how much money they must have by this point; the cost of inns and ferry tickets, the few bribes to the right people to keep them from asking anything too awkward - it all added up. They could not have much left now. The fingers of his right arm flexed and he felt disorientated for a moment. Phantom limb sensation once again. The gun arm was still so new, so strange. The right decision? There had been little else anyone could offer him - not with what he had scavenged after the fire. Perhaps it would be better to have left his arm bare. No. He had to strike back; he had made the correct decision.

Barret moved Marlene to his other shoulder, his daughter trying to choke back more sobs. She must be having a worse time than he; he tried to murmur some comfort but there was almost nothing he could do about the heat. Barret fingered his collar and glanced around the sector. He had not chosen it for any specific purpose. From the mutterings and rumors rife in Junon, one slum was pretty much the same as another. Well, not entirely true. Sector six seemed the most attractive area to head to at first - the one part of the city where the upper plate remained incomplete. Barret had scowled after listening further and learning what else was in that particular Sector. Exposure to the sky came at a cost; Wall Market was infamous even in Junon - as was the gang leader who ruled it. He could not in good conscience take his daughter there.

Seven had been the nearest, and his first reaction had been to simply get out of the blazing sun that dogged them. At first it had been preferable to the freezing early morning after they left Kalm and the grasslands behind them. No one had warned him about the sweltering heat to be found as he ventured further into the city. Oh, to be up on the plate; the heat bouncing right back into the sky. Must be a decent breeze up there too. Barret scowled to himself. And full of the rich and Shinra executives. Exactly the people he had come to deal with. Somehow. Fantasies would do him no good for now.

"Hey," a voice said from nearby.

Barret looked up; a girl in her late teens was leaning around the doorway of the building. Pretty; long black hair, red eyes, holding a small, circular tray. "Hi," he replied with a nod, shifting Marlene into a more comfortable position and softly shushing her. Typical situation; he needed to move along. No one wanted someone like him lounging in front of their building. The girl's gaze shifted to Marlene and Barret narrowed his eyes.

"Is she okay?" the girl asked.

"About as good as she could be in this heat," Barret said, glancing around the area. What was he even looking for? It was not as if they could find some shady area to avoid the heat; the ambient temperature would be the same everywhere. He needed somewhere cooler.

"Do you... want to sit in here?" The girl nodded into the interior. "We got air con. For now..." she said glancing back through the doorway.

"For now?" Barret asked, the offer horribly tempting.

"Yeah. I mean, the thing's been playing up a bit and it wasn't in the best shape when I got it but..." She smiled. "It works."

"What kind of place we talking about?" Barret asked, trying to peer up at the outside of the building.

"Bar," the girl replied. "But don't worry; no drunks in here. Not yet anyway. Plus you look like you could use a drink," she added hurriedly.

Barret tried to shift Marlene a little. "Thanks. But it's okay. Need to get moving."

"You..." The girl bit her lip. "You don't have anywhere do you?"

"And if I don't?" Barret asked as he pulled himself upright.

"Your kid; she... she..." The girl trailed off. "She looks like she needs a rest."

Barret paused. "Yeah. Yeah she does. But, we can't rest here..."

"I've got a spare room," the girl blurted. "Behind the bar."

"Thanks, but..." Barret sighed. The offer was tempting. "I can't just take your charity."

"I was going to offer you a job too," the girl said.

"Work? What kinda work? I don't know anything about bar work."

She smiled. "Not quite what I had in mind. You look tough."

"Miner," he replied.

"And... any good with, er, that?" she asked gesturing to his augmented arm.

"Pretty accurate," he said. More confident sounding than he was.

"How do you feel about being a bouncer?" the girl asked.

"A bouncer?" Barret frowned.

"I'll pay you. Plus I'm offering you somewhere to get yourselves on your feet. I mean; I can take care of myself. But it'd be handy to have someone to take care of the drunks while I'm trying to tend the bar." She smiled again. "What do you say?"

Barret took another glance around the sector. The offer was almost too good to be true. "Why you being so nice?" he said, wincing at his question. The girl's expression darkened, one hand clutching the middle of her shirt.

"Because I know what it's like to come here and have no idea where to go next," she said quietly, staring down towards the ground. "And..." she glanced up at him, the moment already passed. "It's more for her," she said. "She needs a home."

Barret tried to stop the grin. "Okay. For now. Until we get ourselves sorted."

The girl grinned. "That's fine. Welcome to the Seventh Heaven," she said, spreading her arms wide. She stepped to one side as Barret crossed the threshold into glorious, cool air. He paused for a moment, just enjoying the relief from the heat. Two other men and another girl in the bar were regarding him. He paid them no mind for now and pried Marlene from his shoulder.

"Marlene?" he asked gently. "We're gonna stay here for a bit. You okay with that?" Marlene rubbed tear streaked eyes and glanced around, nodding vaguely. She stared at the girl.

"Are you an angel?" Marlene asked.

"Me? An angel?" The girl went wide-eyed and laughed. "Oh, no. I don't think anyone's called me that before." She crouched down. "My name's Tifa Lockhart. Can you tell me your name?"

"Marlene..." she replied, swaying on her feet, smiling back at the girl.

"Well, Marlene. Would you like something to drink?" Marlene nodded. "How about your dad? Would he like something too?" Marlene stared up at him.

"Tell the nice lady I would," Barret said.

"Papa would!" Marlene said with an emphatic nod.

"Okay. If you and your papa want to sit down, I'll get you both something. Okay?"

"Okay," Marlene said shyly.

Tifa straightened up and held her left hand out. "Nice to meet you, mister...?"

"Barret. Barret Wallace," he replied as he held out his own hand.

"Mister Wallace," Tifa said shaking his hand.

"Just Barret is fine."

Tifa nodded. "Beer okay for you?"

"Fine," Barret said, keeping an eye on his daughter as she stared around the interior.

"Coming right up. And don't worry about her," she said, wandering back towards the bar. "These guys are fine. Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, say hi to my new bouncer."

The trio chorused hellos and Barret finally started to relax. He had not come here with a specific plan, but seemed to have fallen on his feet.


End file.
